4 Tips for Effectively Contracting with Clients

Made popular by the go-to-expert on consulting Peter Block, "contracting with clients" is the key ingredient for success when undertaking any OD intervention. Contracting is essentially about establishing the ground rules of what you and your client want to accomplish. This post will cover what contracting is and why it is important, the steps to contracting and 3 key tips for success.

What is Contracting?

Contracting is about having a clear, honest conversation with your client about how you will work together before and during an intervention. The "client" in this case being whoever is asking for the intervention to take place and will be accountable for the impact, usually the leader of a team.

Contracting is not merely an administrative step, but an agreement between yourself as the provider and the client to make sure everyone understands:

• Why the work is happening

• What the goals are

• Who is involved

• What each person is responsible for

• How decisions will be made

Why is Contracting Important?

Given that OD work focuses on people, behaviour, and systems, things can easily become unclear or misaligned if expectations are not discussed upfront. Contracting also helps to:

Prevents Confusion and Frustration

Interventions can run into trouble because:

• The goals are unclear

• Different people expect different outcomes

• The work keeps changing without discussion

Contracting helps avoid this by aligning everyone early and by revisiting agreements when things change.

Clarifies Roles and Decision-Making

In OD work, it’s important to be clear about:

• Who is asking for the work

• Who will be affected by it

• Who has the authority to make decisions

Contracting makes these boundaries clear so the OD practitioner is not put in a difficult position and the client understands their role in the change.

When Is Contracting Used?

Contracting is not a one-time event. It can be used at several points during an OD intervention, e.g.:

1. At the beginning of an intervention

When the work is first discussed, contracting helps answer:

• What problem are we really trying to solve?

• Is this the right type of work for OD?

• What does success look like?

This sets the direction for everything that follows.

2. Before major activities

As the work moves forward, it’s common to revisit the agreement before:

• Collecting data (such as interviews or surveys)

• Sharing feedback with teams or leaders

• Facilitating workshops or interventions

3. When Issues or Resistance Come Up

If there is pushback, confusion, or tension at any point during the intervention, OD practitioners can pause and return to the contract with the client. This helps reset expectations and address concerns rather than forcing the work forward. As relationships are living systems, circumstances can change that may require shifting the focus of an intervention.

4. At the end of any intervention or during transitions

Contracting is also useful when:

• The work is ending

• Responsibility is being handed back to the client and team

• Next steps are being discussed

This helps reinforce learning and ensures sustainability after the OD intervention ends.

What are the key questions to ask the client when contracting?

The main purpose here is helping the client explore and discover the issues they are facing. Your comments could include something like:

"To figure out how I can help you, I would like to ask you some questions that help me understand the situation and how you see it. Then I can share my thoughts with you and get your reaction. How does that sound as a next step?"

Some questions to help you gain clarity are:

• What is going on for the team right now? or What prompted you to seek this intervention?

• What doubts do you have about the way things are going? or What deficiencies/gaps do you notice that should be filled?

• What is your contribution to having created the very thing you want to see changed? - if leaders think it's their employees who need to change it's going to be a bumpy ride until they come to realize that they have a role to play in creating the environment they're inhabiting

• What outcomes are you looking for with an intervention?

• How much are the employees aware of this situation? What are their expectations?

• What have you tried before, and what worked? What did not work?

  
  

  Additional Questions - depending on the nature of the intervention

• What areas of the organization will this intervention impact?

• Are there any topics or areas that are off-limits?

• Are there any known sensitive areas or sources of resistance I should be aware of?

• What logistic constraints (e.g., time, scheduling challenges, etc.) that I should be aware of?

• What resources (e.g., budget, people, data) will be available?

• What level of access will I have to employees and information?

• What role do you see yourself playing in this process?

• Who else needs to be involved or informed in this process?

• Who will book the space? Who will provide the materials?

• How will you let participants know about the intervention?

4 Key Tips for Success

1. Try to connect with the leader of the team - Whenever possible try to speak to the person who is the lead of the group receiving the intervention, in order to best understand from the source what the situation and key issues are. As internal consultants we can often find ourselves contracting directly with the HR Business Partner. It is worth a try to reach the client directly. This can look like asking "I need to speak with the person who heads up the team to make sure we clearly understand the situation. Do you see a problem with doing this?"

2. Help the client find the best solution for sustainability: Often the client and/or an HR Business Partner enters into the contracting stage with a problem (based on their own perspective) and a solution to the problem already in mind (e.g., training). Your main goal in contracting is to help the client gain clarity on the root problem they are trying to solve and to help them determine whether the solution they are proposing is an appropriate method for sustainability.

3. Be Flexible - remember that relationships are living systems, it's better to meet people where they are at rather than trying to force a process through with a team who is not ready.

4. Try not to take resistance personally - resistance is generally about people not wanting to give up control, to be vulnerable, or their discomfort with change because all improvement measures involve some sort of change. Resistance can look like "We don't have time for this". "We're too busy". "Those other people are the problem". "Why is this taking so long?". Refer to tip #3.

Key Takeaway

Contracting is an first step when delivering an intervention. It is worth the investment to take time before heading into an OD intervention to get clarity with the client on their objectives, their expectations, roles and responsibilities. Contracting helps ensure that everyone involved understand how the work will happen and what they are responsible for—making meaningful and lasting change more likely.

Which other contracting questions have you found useful when contracting with your clients?

References:

Peter Block (2020), "Key to 'Contracting' With Your Client", (2020) Forbes.com

Peter Block (2011), Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used.

David Maister, Charles H. Green & Robert M. Galford, (2021), The Trusted Advisor.